Woodbridge: What now for Novak Djokovic?

If you think back twelve months, the dominant stories in tennis were completely opposite to where we are now.

Look at the two athletes who took time off after Wimbledon 2016: Roger Federer has gone away, put the socket into the charge point and is back at 100%; it’s the same for Rafa Nadal – he is back winning majors.

But Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray – who were dominating the game a year ago – are now mentally and physically running on the red line of their phone batteries. They are in low-power mode: they are trying to get the best out of themselves but can’t.

In many ways, it’s not what the sport wants.

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Andy is physically injured. His body has put an enormous amount in, and he needs time to recover. I would tell him to go and rest for five months and start again in the New Year – mentally he doesn’t have any big issues.

It’s not the same for Novak: his issue looks to be mental.

The way that he finished at Wimbledon was a shock – there was no indication that he had an injury issue going into the tournament. In fact, he was on the way back. The French Open was better (even though he got smacked in the quarterfinals, which would have hurt). He made the decision to play more, and won Eastbourne. That gave him the momentum at Wimbledon, and after those first two rounds it looked like he was playing very well. In Berdych, he was playing a guy that he would have normally crunched, but it was almost as if he got to a point and mentally snapped and said ‘I’ve had enough, I’m putting down my tools and I’m going to find myself’.

Did he walk away from the battle?

He didn’t look like someone who was shattered by the fact he had to retire. There was resignation, and he let us in on that.

There have been other players over the years who have hit the mental wall. One that stands out for me is Mats Wilander, who had an incredible run to win three of the four majors in 1988 – I still remember watching him beat Lendl 7-6 in the fifth at the US Open and marvelling in how much strength physically and mentally they both had. He never played great tennis after that match. He kept playing, but was never the same Mats Wilander.

You also have Borg walking off after the 1981 US Open final – he didn’t even wait for the trophy ceremony – and never played again.

This moment at Wimbledon, for me, has that ever so slightly written into it.

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If Novak is injured then he needs time off. But if it is a mental issue, how does he break through that? He’s not a ‘normal’ player – he’s a champion. The mere mortals that play tennis, those who are ranked between 20 and 100, face these challenges almost weekly. Djokovic has never had to. That can be almost overwhelming for someone who is that good – do you want to keep turning up and just doing okay?

For me, in doubles I wasn’t happy only making the quarters of a Slam: you either win it or you don’t. You can get to a point where you say ‘I don’t know if I can do that any more, so I’d rather not’. That could be something that he’s contemplating.

If the issue is mental, it’s going to be hard to recover from. Once that crack opens it’s difficult to close. Physically you can come back – Roger and Rafa have shown that – but mentality is what makes champions different. When that goes, it’s not always possible to return to the dizzy heights of the game.